Assessment of the Efficacy of Firocoxib and Robenacoxib in an Induced Synovitis Model of Acute Arthritis in Dogs

摘要

The objective of this study was to compare the analgesic activity of a single oral dose of two COX-2 selective inhibitors, firo-coxib (Previcox (R), Merial) and robenacoxib (Onsior (R), Elanco), in an acute pain model in dogs. Sixteen healthy Beagle dogs were randomly allocated to three groups. Two successive experiments were conducted, in which eight dogs served as control. Eight dogs received firocoxib or robenacoxib in a cross-over design at the recommended dosage 13 hours before intra-articular injection of a urate crystal suspension (UC) for induction of synovitis. Ground reaction forces (Peak Vertical Force, PVF) and clinical Visual Lameness Scores (VLS) were measured before induction of synovitis, at 1.5, 3, 5, 7, 10, and 24 hours after UC injection (except PVF which was not measured after 10 hours). In this study, pretreatment with firocoxib significantly reduced the acute pain and lameness induced by UC injection, as shown by the decreased combined visual score of lameness at 3 hours post-injection, and the increased PVF values compared to the control group at 3 and 5 hours post-injection. Firocoxib performed significantly better than robenacoxib at 3, 5, and 10 hours post-UC injection. In this model, robenacoxib was not different from control for both the VLS and the PVF values. Pre-treatment with firocoxib reduced the induced pain associated with intra-articular administration of urate crystals.